Caribbean Royal Palm
Roystonea oleracea

Family: Arecaceae

What it is like

A large palm. The trunk is whitish and 30 m tall. It is 50 cm across. The trunk is the same width throughout except for a bulge at the base. The leaves are pinnate and green. The leaves are 5-7 m long. They are flat at the bottom of the crown. This is because the leaflets are placed in one plane. There is a prominent green crown-shaft. It is 2 m long. The leaflets are light green and crowded along the midrib in 2 ranks on the same plane. The flower stalk comes out below the crown-shaft. It is over 1 m long and has many branches. The flowers are white or cream. The fruit are small, round and bright red to purplish black. They are 15-20 mm long by 8-10 mm wide.

There are 10 Roystonea species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It suits the tropics and subtropics. It grows in swampy areas. It also grows on the edge of the rainforest. It grows from sea level to 1760 m altitude. In Cairns Botanical Gardens. In Townsville palmetum. It grows in plant hardiness zones 11-12.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Barbados, Bolivia, Bazil, Central America, Colombia (country/location of origin), Costa Rica, Cuba, Fiji, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Lesser Antilles, Mauritius, Mayotte, North America, Pacific, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Venezuela, West Indies

How it is used for food

The cabbage or growing point is eaten. It is pickled or boiled. The very young flower stalk is pickled and eaten. The pith is eaten by making a form of sago from the starch. The fruit yield a fatty oil which is edible.

Edible parts

Cabbage, palm heart, spathe or young flower stalk, sago, starch, fruit - oil

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The seed are small and round and germinate easily. They take about 3 months to germinate.

The young seedlings grow quickly.

Its other names

Local names

Cabbage palm, Chaguaramo, Feathery Cabbage Palm, Maparo, Palem raja karibia, Palma real, Venezuela royal palm, West Indian Royal Palm, Yagua

Synonyms

Areca oleraceae Jacq.; Euterpe caribaea Spreng.; Oreodoxa caribaea (Spreng.)Dammer; Oreodoxa charibaea Becc.; Oreodoxa oleracea (Jacq.)Mart.; Oreodoxa regia var. jenmanii Waby; Roystonea caribaea (Spreng.) Wilson; Roystonea oleracea var. excelsior L.H. Bailey; Roystonea venezuelana L. H. Bailey;